2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Implementation and Evaluation of an Engineering Design Process Course for High School Preservice Teachers based on 3D Printer Component Analysis

Presented at Manufacturing Division (MFG) Technical Session 2

3D printing (3DP) has been becoming pervasive in the K-16 education system. However, in many schools, new 3D printers arrive, work for a certain period, and before long break down due to lack of maintenance and support. It is therefore imperative for teachers to develop a deeper understanding of 3D printing in order to fully release its potential in engineering design. In this project, the course of engineering design for preservice teachers (PST, current undergraduate students) is developed and implemented with mechanical components from dissected 3D printers. The approach is to dissect a 3D printer’s hardware, explain each component’s function, introduce each component’s manufacturing methods, describe possible defects, and elucidate what works and what does not. This allows the PSTs to develop a better understanding of 3D printing process, have a better idea on how to fix a 3D printer when it breaks down, and design components that are compatible with 3D printing. The evaluation results show that the course was well received by the PSTs who have improved their knowledge in 3D printing. In the future course offering, both knowledge gain and efficacy will be evaluated to help us better understand the impact of the course.

Authors

Prof. Weihang Zhu University of Houston - COE [biography]

Weihang Zhu is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology, University of Houston, USA since 2018. He was a Professor of Industrial Engineering at Lamar University from 2005 to 2018. He received his Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from North Carolina State University (2003), USA and his M.S. and B.S. in Mechanical and Energy Engineering.
Prof. Mariam Manuel http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5380-5852 University of Houston - COE [biography]

Dr. Mariam Manuel is a Clinical Assistant Professor specializing in engineering design education for teachHOUSTON, a secondary STEM teacher preparation program in the Department of Mathematics at University of Houston. In addition to preservice STEM teacher education courses, Dr. Manuel teaches Physics for Middle School Teachers and has authored/taught graduate level coursework in Engineering Design Education, for the UH STEM Master’s program. Dr. Manuel serves on multiple grants and actively publishes and presents at national research conferences. Her research interests include STEM teacher preparation, engineering design education, and culturally responsive pedagogy.
Dr. Paige Evans http://orcid.org/https://0000-0001-7175-0931 University of Houston [biography]

Dr. Paige K. Evans is a Clinical Professor in the department of Mathematics at the University of Houston (UH) and the Associate Director of the teachHOUSTON program where she works with preservice secondary STEM teachers to teach innovative lessons as wel
Peter Weber University of Houston, College of Technology (MERGED MEMBERSHIP WITH COE)

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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